The Non-proliferation Collective Action Problem

On 28 September 2021, Dr Ian Stewart’s book, “International Nuclear Export Controls and Nonproliferation – the collective action problem”, was published by the Routledge Global Security Studies series. (Click here)

This book examines the evolution of international nuclear nonproliferation trade controls over time.

The book argues that the international nuclear export controls have developed in a sub-optimal way as a result of a nonproliferation collective action problem. This has resulted in competition among suppliers, owing to the absence of an overarching effective system of control. While efforts have been undertaken to address this collective action problem and strengthen controls over time, these measures have been inherently limited, it is argued here, because of the same structural factors and vested interests that led to the creation of the problem in the first place. This study examines international controls from the beginning of the nuclear age, and early efforts to control the atom, up to more recent times and the challenge posed by Iranian and North Korean nuclear ambitions. Drawing on a rich body of original archival research and interviews, the book demonstrates that the collective action problem has restrained cooperation in preventing nuclear proliferation and that gaps persist in the international nuclear trade control regime.

The book draws heavily on the archive materials hosted on this site. Indeed, many of these materials were gathered for use in this project. That drove visits to every US Presidential Library from Truman to Reagan, as well as numerous visits to the US, UK, and Canadian national archives.